Welcome

           By: Martha Goodsell

The Hubbard Town Patriot began with a Fourth of July float in 2005. The local theme was "states". As a last minute entry, my dad and I decided to create the 51st state. We drew a big map of NY and accenuated I 84 which was a perfect 'dotted' line for cutting the state in two-- downstate and upstate. We made a big pair of scissors and cut along the dotted line.

In 2006 my neighbor and I decided to focus on a political theme coupled with a bit more activism—after all, when you’ve got a captive audience why not? Upset with the Bush Administration and our diminishing real income, we created a Candor-style Tea Party.  From there the Hubbard Town Patriot launched into an irregular newsletter,  a “Meet the Candidates” campaign, another Fourth of July Float and more handouts. We decided to take our political dissatisfaction by the horns, concluding that “talk was cheap” and what we really need to do was to “take action”. 

Over time and through much discourse, we have learned to communicate well with each other- listening, explaining, debating, and trying to understand what the other has to say. And through this process, we have discovered that even though we would be placed on opposite sides of the political spectrum, by contemporary standards, we both hold the same values and seek common goals. The way each of us would arrive to such satisfaction, is significantly different.

When the opportunity arose to take the Hubbard Town Patriot to a wider audience, we jumped. We are delighted to be participating in this newly created, locally focused, home-town paper with a regular weekly column. Some weeks the by-line will be mine, and on other weeks, the by-line will be that of my neighbor and friend, Sue Heavenrich.

Over the coming weeks and months we will look at the political landscape commenting on things such as: the role of the media, the art of debate, complacency, and labeling. We’ll also look at specific interests and concerns. On hot button issues, or proposed legislation that will affect our readers, we’ll examine the issue, provide multiple points of view, and tell you how you can take action. We welcome your participation, ideas, thoughts, and concerns. We’ll do our best to address them in a thoughtful and honest manner .

Though we are both political science novices, we are Patriots, in that we believe in public participation in government, the Constitutional role of the media, holding accountable those in office, and the importance of the public exchange of information and civil debate. Our founding fathers required the role of an active public to check governmental powers. Gary Hart exclaimed, "I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot." We hope you join us on this journey.